Coenagrion mercuriale
| Coenagrion mercuriale | |
|---|---|
_male_Parsonage_Moor.jpg) |
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| Male Parsonage Moor, Oxfordshire | |
_female_Dry_Sandford.jpg) |
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| Female, Dry Sandford Pit, Oxfordshire | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Odonata |
| Family: | Coenagrionidae |
| Genus: | Coenagrion |
| Species: | C. mercuriale |
| Binomial name | |
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Coenagrion mercuriale (Charpentier, 1840) |
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Coenagrion mercuriale, the southern damselfly, is a species of damselfly in the family Coenagrionidae. It is found in Algeria, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Morocco, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom. Its natural habitats are rivers and freshwater springs. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The specific part of the scientific name, mercuriale, is because of the distinctive markings on the second segment of the abdomen that resembles the astrological symbol for the planet Mercury - ☿. This also gives the species an alternative common name of mercury bluet.
They require areas of open vegetation, mixed with slow flowing water in which to lay their eggs.
The larvae spend 2 years underwater before emerging as damselflies.
It is thought that 25% of the world population exists within the United Kingdom but it has declined by 30% since 1960 due to changes in grazing, land drainage and water abstraction.
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Wikipedia